Low Out-of-state Tuition Hike Concerns Some At Cnu

NEWPORT NEWS — Christopher Newport's rector worries that the school will be known as a "low-cost provider for out-of-state students."

Virginia students and those from other states will pay the same increase in tuition and fees to attend Christopher Newport University this fall, but some think out-of-state students could pay more.

Bill Heath, rector of the CNU Board of Visitors, worried last week about the message CNU is sending to the public by having a lower percentage increase in tuition and fees for out- of-state undergraduate students than for in-state students.

"It looks like we've got some opportunity to move that cost up," Heath said during a meeting last week. He added that he doesn't want CNU "to be known as the low-cost provider for out-of- state students."

Full-time in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students will pay an extra $1,234 for tuition, fees, and room and board next school year. The change means in-state students will pay 9.3 percent more for a total of $14,560, and out- of-state students will pay 6 percent more, for a total of $21,632.

Students arriving from other states to attend the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia will also see a lower percentage increase in tuition and fees than their peers from Virginia.

CNU officials, including President Paul Trible, say out-of-state students still pay about $7,000 more than in-state students.

Only about 5 percent of CNU students are from out of state, and college officials would like to double that number over the next six years.

University officials like the diversity that students living outside Virginia bring to campus, said Cynthia Perry, CNU's chief of staff. Their tuition revenue also benefits the school, she added.

The goal is to keep out-of-state costs low enough to attract those students.

Once that happens, officials can consider charging them more, Trible told board members.

During last week's meeting, Heath acknowledged that schools such as U.Va. and W&M can keep tuition low for in-state students because of the money generated by non-residents.

About 35 percent of undergraduates at W&M come from states other than Virginia.

The state requires colleges to charge non-residents at least the full amount of what they pay for tuition. Out-of-state undergraduate students at W&M pay 136 percent toward the cost of getting an education at the college, said Bill Walker, university spokesman.

"In effect, the out-of-state students here are subsidizing the in-state students," Walker said.

In recent years, the General Assembly has committed to paying 65 percent of tuition costs for in-state students.

Molly Buckley, a junior from Northern Virginia, hopes CNU will continue to welcome out-of-state students without depriving Virginians of the chance to enroll.

She said she enjoys interacting with students who live in different parts of the country and understands how the college likes the extra money they pay. *

Rising costs at CNU

CNU's Board of Visitors last week approved tuition, fees, and room and board increases for 2006-07.

$634 -- Increase in tuition and fees for full- time Virginia and non-resident undergraduate students

$8,100 -- Typical room and board fees for all students

$14,560-- Tuition, fees, and room and board for in-state undergrads

$21,632-- Tuition, fees, and room and board for out-of-state undergrads